African runner

Ivory Coast Banks, Stock Exchange Close Amid Bank Run

Ivory Coast’s financial system is grinding to a halt with banks closing and the stock market suspended, sparking a run on the lenders left open as the West African nation’s political crisis drags on.

Abou Traore, a 31-year-old police officer, said he tried to close his account and withdraw all his money at a branch of SGBCI, the unit of France’s Societe Generale in Ivory Coast. The lender denied the request, he said, “because it doesn’t have enough liquidity.” The gate to a cash machine outside its main branch was also locked.